In a rematch of their Week 9 game, Archbishop Hoban (12-1) got ahead early and never looked back, cruising to a 47-7 win Friday night over St. Vincent St. Mary (8-5) at a rainy InfoCision Stadium in Akron. A leading candidate for the Mr. Football award, Lamar Sperling wreaked havoc in the first half, rushing for over 200 yards and scoring four touchdowns. As they did in the first matchup, the Knights defense was rolling again, forcing three Irish turnovers.
Photo by Kory Callihan
First Half
St. Vincent St. Mary’s offense looked promising on their first drive, set up deep in Knights territory by a 48-yard run from Connor Jones. Hoban’s defense rose to the occasion and their offense would take over after a missed 28-yard field goal attempt. It wouldn’t take long for Sperling to make his presence felt.
The Knights would put together a 9 play, 80 yard drive that featured a steady dose of their star running back. Sperling carried the ball seven times for 63 yards on the drive, capped off by a four yard touchdown to make it 7-0 Hoban.
The Knights defense came out again and stopped the Irish, forcing them to punt deep in their own territory. Xavier Williams would burst through the line and block the STVM punt, the ball rolling out of bounds at the Irish 1. Two plays later, Sperling plowed in from two yards out for his second of the game, stretching the Hoban lead to 13-0.
Photo by Kory Callihan
Xavier Williams was not done yet, as the junior speedster took a sweep around left end for a 60-yard score, making it 20-0 Knights after one quarter. The Irish would break their scoring drought when D’Anthony Kelker took a draw play 47 yards for the STVM touchdown, making the score 20-7 early in the second.
The Knights wasted no time in responding, putting together another 80-yard drive, again finished off with a Lamar Sperling touchdown, making it 27-7 Hoban midway through the second. On the drive, Sperling carried the ball five times for 76 yards. His half wasn’t over as the senior found the endzone one more time, giving him four touchdowns in the half and the Knights a 33-7 lead at the break.
Photo by Kory Callihan
Second Half
During the halftime break, a sign fell outside the stadium and caused a loud bang, leading to momentary panic at the stadium. After things calmed down, play resumed following a short delay. The STVM defense would come up with their first stop of the contest, but fumbled the ball back to the Knights just three plays later.
Photo by Kory Callihan
On the first play of the drive, starting at the Irish 33, STVM loaded up to stop the run and QB Jacqai Long found Jayvian Crable behind the defense for a 33-yard touchdown strike. A Ryan Burns extra point made the score 40-7 Hoban.
After forcing an Irish fumble for the second drive in a row, the Knights set up shop at the STVM 42 with a running clock in effect. As had been the case all night, Sperling continued to dominate the Irish defense. On the eighth play of the drive, he would score from 12 yards out for his fifth touchdown of the game, stretching the final score to 47-7.
Keys to the Game
Keys to the Game
Lamar Sperling had himself a ballgame. After running for 206 and four touchdowns in the first half, he finished with 286 yards and five scores on 29 carries. When Sperling runs the ball like that, the Knights are almost impossible to defeat. As the weather gets colder, trying to stop him 20-30 times a game is going to keep coaches up at night. When teams go to load the box to stop him, Jacqai Long is smart enough and athletic enough to find the open man, adding an element that hasn’t been needed thus far but could be key going forward.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Hoban defense line seemed to live in the backfield all game long. After forcing six turnovers in the first matchup, the Knights came away with four Friday night. They also forced the Irish to punt the ball five times. Their ability to get off the field and give the ball back to their dominant rushing attack give Hoban a lethal combo.
Photo by Kory Callihan
Next Week
After falling to Winton Woods, who lost 23-16 to Kings Friday night, in last year’s state championship game, the Knights revenge tour continues. Up next is a regional final showdown with Hudson (13-0), who advanced with a 16-14 victory over Painesville Riverside. The site for the game should be released Sunday afternoon.
Top Performers
St. Vincent St. Mary
Markell Carter: 4-12 37 yards 7 carries 16 yards
D’Anthony Kelker: 8 carries 95 yards 1 TD
Santino Harper: 8 carries 62 yards
Archbishop Hoban
Jacqai Long: 5-5 81 yards 1 TD 2 carries 7 yards
Lamar Sperling: 29 carries 286 yards 5 TD
Xavier Williams: 2 carries 56 yards 1 TD Blocked punt
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Hoban 3:28- Lamar Sperling, 4-yard run (Ryan Burns kick good)
Hoban 2:23- Lamar Sperling, 2-yard run (kick blocked)
Hoban 0:38- Xavier Williams, 60-yard run (Burns kick good)
2nd Quarter
STVM 10:21- D’Anthony Kelker, 47-yard run (Nick Bertolini kick good)
Hoban 6:59- Lamar Sperling, 38-yard run (Burns kick good)
Hoban 1:32- Lamar Sperling, 2-yard run (kick no good)
3rd Quarter
Hoban 7:21- Jacqai Long to Jayvian Crable, 33 yards (Burns kick good)
4th Quarter
Hoban 9:16- Lamar Sperling, 12-yard run (Burns kick good)
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4tn | FINAL | |
| STVM | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Hoban | 20 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 47 |
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